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Hamlet in southern Alberta evacuated after train derails

Alberta Emergency Alert warned people to avoid the area and evacuate immediately
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FILE - Canadian National Railway says petroleum coke spilled into a creek after a 27 cars of a freight train derailed northeast of Prince George Thursday, March 4, 2020. (Jennifer Goold/Facebook)

People in a tiny rural community northeast of Calgary have been forced from their homes by a train derailment.

Kneehill County says fire department staff are going door-to-door to ensure that residents of the hamlet of Swalwell leave.

An Alberta Emergency Alert says the train derailed this afternoon near Township Road 30-2 and Railway Avenue.

It warns people to avoid the area and evacuate immediately.

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Residents are being asked to register at a reception centre at the Prairie Bible Institute in nearby Three Hills.

County officials were not immediately available for comment.

The Canadian Press

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